Now that’s more like it.
Most ranked matchups this season have either been sloppy or one-sided. The Paradise Jame championship was neither.
Purdue’s 73-72 win against Tennessee was nearly everything one could hope for in a Top 10 showdown – in November, or any month.
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I don’t subscribe to the Journal of Sports Sciences, but it sounds like the latest issue contains a must-read article.
In a study of 365 games, including 93 played on neutral courts, a group of professors found that yes, refs are biased for the home team and “make-up” calls do exist. They also make more calls against teams in the lead – which can grow in the game is on national TV. Essentially, they’re trying to keep the game close.
The next time that obnoxious fan behind complains about the officiating, he might have a point.
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OK, so everyone (me included) who didn’t include Syracuse on their preseason Top 25s turned out to be dumb. Only the coaches’ poll listed the Orange, and they were No. 25 in that.
But after crushing Cal (then ranked 13th) and North Carolina (No. 6) last week, Syracuse vaulted to No. 10 in the AP poll, one of the biggest jumps in the poll’s history. Only two teams went from unranked to higher – and both ‘em logged more impressive wins, hard as that is to believe.
Should they be higher, lower? Does it matter?
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It wasn’t pretty or efficient, but Villanova emerged from a solid tournament field unbeaten. The ‘Cats may even be a little bit better because of it.
A 79-67 win against Ole Miss on Sunday was just the capper of a tourney that revolved around defense and perseverance.
Remember the stifling defense Villanaova used to smack Duke in the NCAA tournament last March? It hasn’t gone anywhere.
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Perhaps every team should lose to a D-II school before the season starts. It sure didn’t hurt Syracuse.
The Orange (4-0) wrapped up an impressive start to the season by dismantling Cal and North Carolina in Coaches vs. Cancer. “That’s about as good as it gets,” said coach Jim Boeheim, “and it was against North Carolina and it was here.”
Still, it is still November. Nothing at this point of the season should be taken as Gospel. With that in mind, here are five things to watch this week.
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Sign of the times: The South Florida will probe the “issues” raised by an AOL Fanhouse report of numerous violations at the school. Ignoring Internet stories like this used to be easy. No longer.
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Kentucky’s defense – or lack of – is killing John Calipari.
Three days after watching Miami of Ohio’s Nick Winbush hit 8 of 10 from beyond the arc and escaping thanks to John Wall’s late heroics, it was more of the same for the Wildcats against Sam Houston State on Thursday. Corey Allmond made 11 of 16 from deep and finished with 37, a Rupp Arena record. Kentucky still eked out a 102-92 victory, but it didn’t sit well with Calipari.
“If we don’t do better defensively folks, we are in trouble,” he said afterward. “Do you think we can score 100 against everybody? Because we’re going to have to. They are going to score 100 against us.”
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It’s panic time at Cal. One of the big three could be out a while.
Last year, the Bears relied on Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson for 60 percent of their scoring. After two games this season, they’ve accounted for 62 percent. They’re always the floor (all three played at least 82 percent of Cal’s minutes last season) and are their three best shooters.
Suffice to say, Cal needs all three to play, and play well to have a chance at winning the Pac-10 or making a deep run in the NCAA tournament. With an ailing Robertson, that's not happening.
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If you didn’t catch up on sleep Wednesday after 24 hours of hoops, you blew it. More days and nights of basketball await, starting Thursday and extending Nov. 29 with the 76 Classic finals.
That’s 11 days of 20 college basketball tournaments. It’s not round-the-clock action, but it’s close. And that doesn’t even include the non-tournament games. (A complete schedule can be found here.)
So what to watch? Glad you asked.
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Foot injuries prompt worry among college basketball coaches. Sometimes little things that appear innocuous turn out to be season-ending. North Carolina’s Marcus Ginyard experienced this last season when a stress fracture delayed his season, then ended it.
OK, so it didn’t derail the Heels’ title run, but not everyone has their depth.
Case in point: Purdue, and the recent surgery to point guard Lewis Jackson.
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